By: Dele Agekamehon
For almost a year, the rumours poured
in intermittently, albeit, in hushed tones and coded banters that the
uninitiated will hardly decipher. Various allusions were also
made to describe the eternal transition of the revered Oba of Benin
Kingdom and head of the respected Eweka dynasty, Omo N’Oba N’Edo
Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Erediauwa I. But all these speculations remained
hollow rumour until the traditional and official announcement of the
royal transition of the Oba was made in Benin last Friday.
In July last year when a prominent
South-west monarch joined his ancestors, modernity had a head-on
collision with tradition, as the social media came alive with report
of the demise of the monarch. His transition was initially vehemently
denied by the Traditional Council, but they could not hold on for too
long before they buckled in the face of ceaseless media scrutiny. In
short, modernity triumphed over tradition, or so it seemed.
Now, in the case of the departed Oba of
Benin, though the serial rumours of the imperial monarch’s
transition started gaining currency about a year ago, perhaps, for
fear of untoward repercussion, nobody, not even the ubiquitous social
media, could dare announce the transition until the news was
officially broken. In this particular case, the strong and undiluted
tradition of Benin Kingdom won.
The possible transition of the revered
Benin monarch became manifest during the build-up to the last
presidential election when Oba Erediauwa was not on hand to receive
one of the presidential candidates who was on a tour of Edo State.
Some people made political capital out of the issue until the Benin
Royal Palace explained that the Benin monarch was only “indisposed”.
But if the palace thought that that will lay the matter to rest, they
were mistaken. Rather than die, the speculations were soon reinforced
by the upsurge of what looks like “traditional rebellion” or
“coup” in some restive sections of the Benin Kingdom.
Things came to a boiling point when a
certain section of the city was delineated along primordial lines and
one Chief Richard Arisco Osemwingie was “coronated” as “His
Royal Majesty, Ogiamen of Utantan, Benin Nation. Stung by this
calculated affront of the creation of an alternate “Oba of Benin”,
on September 9, 2015, the duo of Arisco Osemwingie and his brother,
Patrick Osabuohien, were arraigned before a Chief Magistrate court
for conspiring to commit an unlawful coronation. The case is
still on-going.
The rumours also became rabid at the
same period the Benin Traditional Council became uncomfortable with
the growing antics of the Elawure of Usen, who the Benin Palace
accused of arrogating to himself certain traditional powers and
nomenclature and claiming independence of the Royal Palace in Benin
City.
The internal rumbles on the traditional
turf were not helped by the gradual eclipse of the oft visible and
acerbic spokesman of the Benin Royal Palace, Chief Nosakhare
Isekhure, the Isekhure of Benin Kingdom, who many came to know as the
“conscience” of the royal governance, as he suddenly took a dive
in his visibility and commentaries on traditional or state issues.
The low level presence of the Isekhure in recent times is seen as a
tactical withdrawal action designed to prepare him for the tenure of
the incoming Oba of Benin. But speculations are rife that the new Oba
may not be well-disposed to Isekhure’s penchant for publicity and
hype, some of which had allegedly either embarrassed or implicated
the Palace in the past.
The late Oba Erediauwa was a crucial
stabilising factor in the relative peace Edo State has been enjoying
since he ascended the throne in 1979. It is imperative, therefore, to
note that Oba Erediauwa left indelible footprints in the sands of
time. He was at the vanguard of the prevailing peace in Edo State
through the various mediatory roles he played in resolving some
contentious issues that involved some high-profile politicians. One
of such was his role in finding amicable solution to the
misunderstanding between Chief Tony Anenih and former Abia State
Governor, Orji Uzor Kalu. Another was ending the face-off between
Chief Anenih and former Edo State Governor, Lucky Igbinedion. His
wise counsel, advice and direction have also played a major part in
the resolution of contentious state issues whether on the political
or traditional turf. He was firm, assertive and always straight to
the point. In fact, he was one of the strident but powerful
voices that did not support the perpetuation of the dark-goggled late
General, Sani Abacha’s military dictatorship.
Now that focus and attention have been
placed on electing an Edo governor of Edo South extraction, from the
two major political parties, the All Progressives Congress, APC, and
the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, political watchers are wary of
a situation where the late monarch’s advice and admonition will be
totally absent because of this irreversible transition. This is
more so as it will be the first time since 1979, that an election
will be conducted in Edo State without Oba Erediauwa sitting as the
Oba of Benin. It is even believed that some highly-visible and
politically-connected chiefs in his kitchen cabinet may take
advantage of his absence and assert their own relevance in the face
of the perceived incoming Oba’s little knowledge of the state’s
power matrix and the proximity of the forthcoming governorship
election in Edo State.
Another factor that will play a prime
role is the alleged political configuration that is being forged by
Governor Adams Oshiomhole to anoint a successor who will take over
from him on November 12. The anticipated beneficiary of the
alleged faux pas, Godwin Obaseki, is a scion of the Obaseki
family of Benin City, whose great-grand father, Agho, was said to
have connived with the white colonialists to depose his bosom friend,
Oba Ovonranmwen, after the Benin Massacre of 1897. Agho was
believed to have some self-interest in taking over the Benin kingship
with the assistance of the new colonial masters.
In the run-up to the present hustling
towards the September 10, Edo governorship election, some of the
palace chiefs have been allegedly fingered as aiding the election
dreams of the governor’s man who is believed to be one that the
core Royal Family members will not touch, even with a kilometre-long
pole! But observers are of the view that the departed and
well-beloved monarch tacitly supported the election and re-election
of Oshiomhole and also extended his royal blessings to the governor’s
urban renewal programme-especially in the state capital.
Therefore, it is a matter of conjecture
for one to specifically project an enduring position of the Royal
Palace (especially the Royal Family) with respect to its support or
otherwise, for the candidacy of Obaseki, who is a known protégé of
Oshiomhole. If invariably the late monarch’s siblings are united
against the installation of Godwin Obaseki as the Governor of Edo
State, they will be towing a line of action that many pundits would
have loved to witness if Oba Erediauwa was still alive.
Born on June 22, 1923 as Solomon
Aiseokhuoba Igbinoghodua Akenzua, the late Oba was the 38th Oba
of Benin. He attended Government College, Ibadan (1939 to 1945); Yaba
College and then proceeded to Kings College, Cambridge, UK, where he
studied Law and Administration. In 1957, he joined the Eastern
Nigeria Civil Service as a District Officer before moving to the
Federal Civil Service where he retired as a Permanent Secretary,
Ministry of Health in 1973. He had a stint as the Regional
Representative of Gulf Oil before he was appointed as the Bendel
State Commissioner for Finance, in 1975. By the time he was crowned
the Oba of Benin on March 23, 1979, he was a seasoned administrator,
whose experience over the years, eventually contributed immensely to
his successful monarchical reign. May his soul rest in peace!
Source: THE NATION
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